ABOUT
Learn more about BeSpoke's mission, workshops, and founder here.
What is BeSpoke?
BeSpoke is an organization that hosts free poetry workshops and events for youth in the Providence area. Our programs create space for children to engage with poetry through both reading and writing. By exploring poetry, young people are able to reflect on their own experiences while connecting with the voices of others.
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We believe that self-expression and attentive listening help build empathy and community. BeSpoke promotes creativity and compassion by making poetry accessible to all children, empowering young writers to find their voice and begin their journey as poets.
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How does the three-part workshop series work?
By offering three spaced-out, one-hour workshops, BeSpoke guides youth through the creative process of poetry. The first workshop focuses on brainstorming, the second on writing, and the third on editing and sharing, modeling professional writing practices. Scheduling is flexible, allowing the workshops to be held as a complete series or as a single, standalone session.
What does the three-part series look like?
Workshop 1
The first class begins with an introduction describing poetry’s impacts on the community, as well as an outline of the upcoming writing process. The workshop leader reads their favorite poems and then introduces some prompts and ideas for the children’s own poems. The remaining time is for brainstorming words, themes, and concepts for creating poems in Workshop 2.
Workshop 2
The second class reviews poetry methods discussed in the first workshop. The workshop leader reads their own poetry as an example and then explains their creative process. The brainstorming from the prior workshop is used to start creating poems, with the workshop leader facilitating. By the end of the workshop, a rough draft of the poems are completed, with the workshop leader answering questions and offering guidance on the work
Workshop 3
The third class completes the poems started during workshop 2, and with the help of the workshop leader, participants edit their poems. Those who are comfortable share their poems, as well as the workshop leaders, with a discussion following. In the discussion, students are encouraged to share positive feedback about their peers' poems. Children leave with their poems, and with permission, pictures of brainstorming sheets, poems, and children reading are posted on the gallery section of the website.
BeSpoke Founder
Robin Linden
Robin is a senior at the Wheeler School in Providence and currently serves as the Youth Poetry Ambassador of Rhode Island. Her writing has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest, the Write Rhode Island short story contest, and the New York Times personal narrative competition. She is the editor-in-chief of Wheeler’s literary journal and newspaper, serves on the student government, and leads the book club. Robin has published a collection of poetry and enjoys reading and writing poetry that is vivid, reflective, and emotional.
